The Greatest Byzantine Works in Europe

The Byzantines based in Constantinople inherited the Roman Empire. The strength of the new empire rested on the wealth and knowledge of the ancient world, which in the 4th Century was concentrated in the East. Another pillar of the Byzantines was Christianity, a unifying cultural and bureaucratic force. Most of the Byzantine works that are left to the modern world are churches, known for their colorful frescoes and glittering golden mosaics. Western Europe, abandoned by the Romans came to be conquered by the Goths, Huns and Vandals. Although the 6th Century Emperor, Justinian would briefly reclaim the Mediterranean as a "Roman lake," after the arrival of the Lombards and then the Arabs, the West came to evolve on its own as a Latin Catholic collection of states that would eventually evolve into the Western Europe we all know and love.

To most today, the Byzantine Empire is a historical afterthought, bridging the millennium between the Romans and the Ottomans. However, the very fact of their longevity deserves recognition. Even more, the buildings of startling beauty and color that the Byzantines left us, are testament to a creative, intelligent people that kept the spark of culture going during the Dark Ages. This article will highlight some of the most influential and beautiful Byzantine works in Europe.

Chora Church - Naturally, given that today's Istanbul was the capital of the Byzantine Empire, many of the works on this list are located in the former Ottoman capital. Chora Church is a late Byzantine work created on what were then the outskirts of the city, just beyond the walls erected by Constantine. Today's church, known as the Kariye Museum, is actually located inside the farther walls erected by Theodosius II. A trip to the Kariye is often best coupled with a look at the land walls that kept out invaders for a thousand years. This small church is known today for its incredible wealth of frescoes. Most of the icons and frescoes in the Byzantine Empire were destroyed during the iconoclastic controversy, a time when patriarchs and emperors came to adopt the Islamic idea that painted images were tantamount to idol worship. As a post-controversy structure, Chora's frescoes are remarkably intact. Although the church itself is small, its every surface seems to bear painted images of Christ, the Virgin, saints and emperors. The image of Christ raising the Old Testament patriarchs out of Hell is the highlight of this incredible work of art.

La Martorana - Sicily, conquered by Byzantines, Arabs and Normans, bears many architectural treasures that are essentially a fusion of all three cultures. La Martorana was designed by a Syrian, George of Antioch, in the employ of a Norman and decorated by Byzantine artists. The dome is supported by Fatimid Columns inscribed with Arabic. The central nave bears the original Byzantine frescoes and mosaics. Despite the age of the church and its tragic reworking as a semi-Baroque structure, the startling gold and color of its original artwork is one of Sicily's artistic highlights. La Martorana also bears the only image of Roger II, the Norman conqueror who reclaimed the island for Christendom from the Arabs.

Basilica Cistern - Every visitor to Istanbul should plan a trip to the cistern. This work of infrastructure was preserved for modern times by the sheer accident of being forgotten. Located near the Hagia Sophia and Imperial Palace, the cistern stored water against the occasional droughts that can plague Turkey. In the summer time, stepping below street level into the darkness of the Basilica Cistern is a cool and refreshing break from Istanbul's baking heat. What you will find is a forest of columns of all different orders - Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and more fanciful structures shaped like serpents. A catwalk erected over the water allows you to explore this motley collection of architectural scraps, especially the Medusa heads, whose inversion in carp filled standing water may be symbolic of the triumph of Christianity over Paganism.

Cappella Palatina - The Palatine Chapel, located at Roger II's Norman Palace is one of Palermo's most fascinating works. The chapel has a wooden ceiling carved in a stalactite pattern taken directly from the Arabs. A close cousin would be the stone ceilings found at the Al Hambra in Granada. From floor to ceiling, the chapel is filled with precious stone. The Byzantine frescoes on the walls have certain features distinct from most other works. The faces of Christ and Saints are more expressive than the flat stoic images of earlier works. Also, the walls are inscribed with Latin calligraphy, not Greek. The entire chapel is a wonderful architectural freak born of the whims of a ruler who didn't care where his art came from, as long as it was beautiful.

St. Mark's Cathedral - The city of Venice is, itself, something of a Byzantine work. The city began on the mainland as a Greek colony but when the Lombards broke into Italy, these artisans and merchants were forced to flee into the marshes, where they erected a one of a kind metropolis on pilings hammered into the mud. St. Mark's Square and Basilica are the beating heart of Venetian life. The church is a decadent conglomeration of domes and gold, decorated with frescoes in every nook. Decorated by Byzantine artists, the church was constructed in honor of the smuggling of St. Mark's body out of Alexandria in a barrel of pork. During the 13th Century, the misguided conquest of Istanbul during the 4th Crusade brought an additional haul of Byzantine loot to adorn the church. St. Mark's Quaddriga (Four Horses) once adorned the Hippodrome as did the porphyry statue of the Fourth Tetrarchs (Roman co-emperors of the 3rd Century) that is affixed to the south eastern corner of the church. The treasury is a filled with golden chalices and saints relics taken from Constantinople and the main altar is home to the Pala D'Oro, a golden and jeweled curtain also smuggled from the Byzantine capital.

Hagia Sophia - No work is more emblematic of Byzantium itself that the Hagia Sophia. This 6th Century church is easily the most recognizable and popular tourist attraction in Turkey. It was the master building created by the empire's most illustrious emperor, Justinian. The original Hagia Sophia (church of holy wisdom) was constructed by Constantine. That structure was destroyed by fire and rebuilt by Theodosius I, the last man to rule both the eastern and western empires. Justinian's Basilica ironically was built as the result of a riot against the emperor himself, one that nearly toppled his reign. After having his greatest general slaughter 30,000 rioters in the Hippodrome, Justinian had the church rebuilt in 5 years. The scale of the Hagia Sophia is downright shocking. The dome towers above the floor, much higher than the small chapels and temples that came before in the Roman Empire. Justinian's church brought together building materials from the entire empire: marble, verd antique, porphyry and granite. It contains a handful of frescoes preserved by a layer of paint when the Ottomans converted the building to a mosque. The image of the Virgin Mary over the main altar and that of Christ on the upper floor are iconic images of Byzantine artwork. One of the most atmospheric features of the church is the level of dim lighting emitted by a handful of windows. The echoing of voices and fluttering of birds also contribute to an aura of contemplative timelessness.